Against Indifferentism

Many regard John Courtney Murray as the theologian who gelded Catholicism's self-confident claims and made the Roman Church safe for the liberal-dominated American scene. Thankfully, James Patterson does not perpetuate this misreading. He rightly emphasizes that Murray's commendation of America’s religious indifferentism was historically informed, tentative, and prudential.

"Indifferentism" was coined by 19th-century Catholic theologians to describe the belief that it is of no consequence which religion dominates the public square. This view was roundly condemned at the time. By any fair description, America's constitutional government manifests indifferentism, which was why the Vatican was anxious about the dangers of "Americanism."